The Initiative Committee of Owners and the Zagreb Gallop Association have filed criminal complaints over suspected systematic animal abuse, unlawful seizure of property, and opaque spending of budget funds.
The death of the top mare Tashiba on August 6, 2026, at her owner's estate has turned the case of the forced removal of 45 racehorses from the Zagreb Hippodrome into a serious criminal matter. A joint statement from the Initiative Committee of Owners and the Zagreb Gallop Association, released a day later, levels direct accusations at Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and the city administration for continuous animal abuse, illegal seizure of others' property, and suspicious handling of public funds.
Urgent supplements to criminal complaints have been filed with the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia (DORH), the Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK), and the veterinary inspection, based on Article 205 of the Croatian Criminal Code, which sanctions the killing and torture of animals. This moves the entire case beyond the realm of political debate and into the sphere of criminal liability.
Tashiba died just four months after being returned to her owner following a final court ruling. Although the legal battle was won, the animal was handed over in severe health - sick, emaciated, with irreversible damage to internal organs and serious infections. The statement cites prolonged isolation, inhumane housing conditions, and a strict ban on access by owners who insisted on treatment as the direct causes of such a condition.
The statement from the Zagreb Gallop Association details the hierarchy of responsibility, calling out specific actors who allegedly acted on the direct orders of Mayor Tomašević.
Central to the evacuation was veterinarian Mario Zeman, personally hired by the mayor. Zeman actively participated in the seizure of the horses, despite knowing the identity of the true owners from day one - the information was readily available through microchips and official registries.
At the location in Županja, where supervision was carried out by Ivan Oršolić, two top champions, Singidunum and Iron John, died. Veterinarian Zeman himself later officially confirmed that the cause of their deaths was starvation, i.e., a complete lack of food.
The third victim in this case is a severely injured foal at the ranch of Carine Chiara Moretti in Čazma. The Director of the Hippodrome, Denis Gugić, personally, accompanied by private security, refused to hand over the foal to its owners, even though it was still alive at that moment, as evidenced by video recordings. Veterinary inspector Denis Sever explicitly prohibited the owners from taking the animal and authorized its transport to other locations, including the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, without the owners' knowledge or consent.
Inspector Sever, responsible for 38 horses at that location, has neither compiled an official report nor provided the owners with an explanation of the causes of death, even after four months.
While the City of Zagreb allocated 500 euros plus VAT per month per horse from the budget for alleged accommodation in stables at the properties of Carine Chiara Moretti (Čazma), Mario Zeman (Slatina), and Ivan Oršolić (Županja), the animals were actually housed in dilapidated ruins, roofless sheds, or spent two and a half years outdoors. The surviving horses now suffer from chronic heaves and pneumonia, which has permanently impaired their health and working capacity.
The narrative of "bringing order" to the Hippodrome has completely unraveled in the face of facts about deceased champions, final court rulings in favor of the owners, and evidence of hundreds of thousands of euros spent from the city budget to keep horses outdoors and in ruins. The City of Zagreb now faces massive compensation claims, which will ultimately be paid by the citizens.
